Bigger chapter here.
DE Fluff explosion ahead.
I hope you, my wonderful readers, liked how I dealt with the sire bond. I had a few ideas on how to break the it but I decided to go with the fastest option.
I liked/hated the sire bond when it was introduced on the show. I liked it because their love was so strong it created it a supernatural bond between them, but I hated how it fed the soap-opera love-triangle bullshit.
It was awful how it scared us and Damon for the entire season. Elena's passionate speech in the finale was epic and memorable but I would've liked it more if the bond was removed earlier in the season. That is why this chapter is longer than the ones before. I won't spoil anything and just let you read.
Enjoy.
Chapter Nine
Ardour
Jeremy woke up with the same increased energy that he's been carrying since his first kill which seemed to have come with increased appetite. He searched the lake house kitchen for essentials, finding cereal and fresh fruit. While enjoying breakfast he saw Damon and Elena out the rear window, wrapped in a blanket and sitting on the pier, watching the golden sunrise together.
"When did that happen?" Jeremy mumbled to himself. He had no clue what was going on in his sister's romantic life but he planned to ask her about it eventually.
"The memorial isn't until 11." Elena said softly in his arms.
"I'm happy to drive you." Damon offered as he brushed his fingers down her arms.
"I'm sorry about, Carol. I remembered you worked with her." She comforted him.
"I'm sorry too." He comforted her back, knowing that Elena had personally known the Lockwood's for all of her life. After a long moment of sharing the view of the sun-kissed lake, Damon lifted the mood with a heartwarming question. "You're not free tonight by any chance are you?" He asked into her cheek, making her smile. "I happened to know a little joint that makes the best eggplant parmesan."
"I love eggplant." She smiled, and pressed her back harder into his chest.
"Perfect." He whispered as he nestled his face in her hair.
"I have to do something first before we go on a public date." Elena said, turning around in his arms and blanket.
"Stefan?"
"He needs to know." She said with a slight frown and he nodded.
"Want me to come with you?" He offered as he brushed a loose hair out of her eyes and pushed it behind her ear. She gave him a reassuring smile.
"It'd be best coming from me." She said and Damon reflected the same smile and then nodded again. Elena unloosen her arm from the blanket to pull out her phone and sent a text to Stefan, asking him to meet her at the Grill.
"I promise you our first date in the evening, Miss Gilbert." Damon smiled, reminding her with a sweet kiss on the cheek. She beamed at him with a wide smile and then hooked her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips.
"Can't wait." She whispered. Come nightfall, she was having her first date with Damon Salvatore.
Elena strolled in the Grill feeling nervous, so much so she could feel her hands shaking. This conversation had to be had but she knew this was going to hurt Stefan. She had only taken a few days after their break up before being intimate with Damon. She didn't regret it but she was feeling guilty. Elena was already concerned about how other people would feel about her and Damon. Bonnie seemed to be the most understanding, whereas Caroline was the complete opposite. It made her wonder what her brother was thinking. Jeremy hadn't made any comment yet, even though he clearly had seen them together at the lake house.
Elena spotted an empty booth near the back and slipped into and waited. She was glad she had chosen a public place for this, eavesdroppers were a concern, but she hoped Stefan would act appropriately, no matter how upset and angry he got. Before Stefan arrived, Elena was greeted by Matt wearing his waistband apron. Matt was another person in her life that didn't know what was going on. She had explained her Damon feelings to him before she died but she was still unsure how he would feel about it. Asking him was the only way to know.
"Elena, hey." Matt greeted.
"Hey." She answered, looking up from the table.
"You look like you're meeting someone." He observed.
"Yeah, Stefan." She replied.
"You're getting back together?" He asked, sounding more like a statement than a question.
"You know we broke up?"
"Yeah, Caroline might've told me." He replied slowly. Elena only nodded. Caroline could never sit on gossip, especially something that involved two of her friends.
"I'm not here to get back together with him." Elena clarified. "We just need to talk about…things. Did Caroline tell you why we broke up?"
"No, it was just a text saying she couldn't believe you dumped Stefan and then a bunch of emojis of broken hearts." He chuckled. Matt didn't want to pry but the question just came out. "Why did you break up?" Elena recalled there were a few reasons but the important one was a certain blue-eyed vampire that snuck up on her.
"Damon." Elena answered in an almost whisper. Matt took a moment to let the name sink in.
"Makes sense." He finally said with a flat smile.
"It does?"
"Remember what you told me about Damon. You said he was the problem that was making you unsure about Stefan. Something about being consumed by him." Matt explained as he remembered their past conversation about both brothers.
A problem.
That definitely wasn't how she felt about Damon now. But she would agree about the consuming part. Anytime she was with him, she felt like they were in their own little world, like a bubble that could only fit the two of them, a bubble full of happiness and unpredictability.
"It actually surprised me when you told me to take you back home." Matt confessed. Elena looked at him with a intrigued expression, wanting him to continue.
"It surprised you when I chose Stefan?" She had to ask.
"Yeah, I mean. You were confused about Damon even though Stefan was still in the picture. Everyone knew you got close to Damon when Stefan left and I assumed that's when you were feeling different about him." Matt breathed before continuing. "If you truly loved Stefan then I don't think you would've been so undecided."
Elena was surprised, hearing Matt explain. It was great to hear a perspective that was on the outside looking in.
"I've never thought about it that way." She replied.
Did she really fall in love with Damon when she was still with Stefan?
Matt began tapping his pen on the notepad, feeling a little nervous.
"So, you're here to tell Stefan about Damon?" He wondered but also dreaded he would have a very upset Stefan in his workplace.
"He already knows how I feel about Damon, there's just other things he needs to know too." She said quietly, hoping to avoid further explaining her physical relationship with Damon.
"You want to order food or a drink?" He asked as he clicked his pen ready.
"No, thanks. This isn't going to be easy conversation and I'd rather not stay longer than I need to." She answered. Sitting across from Stefan while eating a meal would be all kinds of uncomfortable.
"No worries. I should get back to the customers that will actually order things." He joked before leaving her alone.
While she waited, Elena thought back to her morning with Damon. He had woken her up early with neck kisses and whispered that he wanted to take her outside and watch the sunrise with her. Elena could only swoon at such a romantic idea. Which had led to another romantic idea. He was taking her on a date. A traditional first date. She smiled at the thought of seeing what Damon would be like in such a setting, she felt butterflies in her tummy just thinking about what her night could bring. Does dinner and a movie sound like something that Damon would do? He had suggested dinner but everything else was a mystery. It only made her smile wider.
Stefan arrived at the grill not knowing what to think. Elena's message was brief and had only asked to talk. He knew she still had to be mad about keeping things from her but his mood shifted upwards when he spotted her in a corner booth, smiling to herself. Stefan was hit with a ray of hope as he took it in her expression.
Was this them getting back together?
Was everything about the sire bond right and she realized her feelings weren't real? We're they both going to apologize about everything and then kiss, reconciling their relationship? Every question in his head was filling Stefan with hope. With so much hope, he couldn't help but think about a future with her.
She wanted to be human.
Just like he confessed to Rebekah, he would take to the cure with her and have a family together and end up growing old with her. It was a dream he wanted badly, and he only hoped she wanted it with him too.
Even though still feeling the heartbreak, he embraced his hope and approached her.
Elena was broken out of her happy thoughts when she heard her name being called out and a figure passing her eyes.
"Elena." Stefan repeated as he slipped in the booth, sitting across from her. Her smile vanished as she realized what was about to happen.
"Stefan. You're here."
"You asked me here." He replied as he placed his hands on the table in front of hers. Elena pulled hers back and they fell into her lap.
"I wanted us to talk about everything." She said, looking up at his blank expression. "I've had time to process the whole cure/Jeremy thing." She told him, trying not to let her anger hit her voice.
"I'm really sorry about that, Elena. I trust you, so I should've just told you." He apologized, hoping this was the beginning of their reconciliation.
"Yes, you should've. Trusting Klaus has never worked out for us."
"I know, I was just so clouded about everything that I focused on one thing."
"Fixing me.." Elena replied in a soft voice.
"I didn't mean to say it like that, Elena. You never wanted this life, you told me that on our day at the falls." He said, remembering their conversation before Klaus had taken her that night.
"A lot has changed since then, Stefan." She stated and he recoiled back into the lounge chair, bringing his hands down to his sides.
"You mean, Damon?" He said bitterly through clenched teeth, his mood completely changing.
"Yes." She confessed and she felt a weight float off her chest.
"You're together?" He asked with a defeated expression. His ray hope was burning away like tissue paper along with his fantasy of being human with her.
"Yes." She confessed again. Stefan's face suddenly changed again to fear and anger as he realized her earlier smile was about Damon and not about him. Stefan's eyes darkened as he leaned forward on his elbows and asked a question he never wanted answered.
"How together are you?" He breathed and Elena's eyes widened. She took a deep breath as she knew what he was asking. Why did Stefan have to ask that? It wasn't his business and it was only going to hurt him more. She took another long breath, deciding to be honest but also indirect.
"Do you really want me to answer that, Stefan?" She said gingerly.
Damon and Elena had sex.
The way she answered, the mental images, the utter heartbreak and the doomed hope had all collided together above Stefan's heart and began spilling down the sides of the organ. It was like lava running down a mountain, scorching and curving stone in its path. He felt his arms and hand muscles tighten with anger, causing him to make fists. His facial expression was washed with horror, defeat and disgust. His blood began to boil with rage and he almost wanted to tear the restaurant to ruins to ease the pain.
This was the worst kind of emotion and it was heightened.
Stefan became statue-like, trying his best to keep himself from breaking. His unblinking eyes and ears didn't even notice Elena was still talking. He didn't want to hear more about her sleeping with Damon, the pictures in his head were torture enough.
So much pain.
He wanted it gone.
"You deserved to hear it from me before anyone else." Elena said but Stefan didn't hear it. He sat alone in the booth for hours and ordered enough neat whiskey to knock out eight humans. The pain in his heart wasn't going anywhere but at least the copious amounts of alcohol were taking the edge off the intense bloodlust. Going on a ripper bender while feeling like this was the last thing he needed right now. He kept drinking until his phone buzzed with a call from Caroline.
"Where are you?" She asked, not wanting to waste time with a greeting.
"I'm having an all alone drinking party." He replied coldly.
"Why?"
"Elena slept with my brother, so you can imagine how I'm feeling." He said angrily.
"Wait, who told you that?"
"Elena did."
"Good, she finally told you." Caroline said, feeling relieved.
"You knew about this!?" He seethed loudly.
"Calm down, Stefan. Yes, I knew." She admitted.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I promised Elena that I wouldn't. She wanted to figure things out before she told you."
"It's pretty clear what she was figuring out." He said with venom as the images came into his mind again. He felt so disgusted, his body wanted to vomit up all the whiskey.
"Look, we can think about that right now, Tyler is upset and he gets priority."
"His mother just died, what'd you expect?"
"How would you like to drive the white oak stake through Rebekah's heart?" Stefan asked as he hastily moved out of the grill, focusing on the Original that killed Elena.
His anger and pain clouded any sense of thinking. He wanted her gone and he didn't care about the consequences of killing Klaus's only sister.
"I'm sorry, Stefan." Elena said to his still reaction before getting up to leave. She walked out and began her journey to the school for the Mayor's memorial. Elena felt saddened as she walked. Confessing to Stefan was hard and she couldn't get any reading from his reaction to her news. She knew she'd hurt him on a deep level which made her worry how Stefan would act. Would he hurt Damon? Would the bloodlust take over? She hoped that he could survive this and find a way to move on.
As Elena reached the school she wasn't feeling guilty or regret about it. She had to tell him, if she didn't, there was no doubt Caroline would've spilled the beans.
Elena found Bonnie in the gymnasium and they took seats and waited for the memorial to begin.
After being ambushed by a vengeful and undaggered Rebekah, Elena found herself compelled in the library with April, Stefan and Caroline. Sitting around the same round table, Rebekah began asking questions.
"April, my sweet, take notes. This is how you get answers in this town." Rebekah said smugly. "In the year 1114, my brother learned, thanks to yours truly, about a brotherhood of vampire hunters with tattoos that grew with each kill. These tattoos revealed what, Elena?"
"A map." Elena replied, rolling her eyes.
"Which led to, Caroline?" Rebekah asked, shifting her gaze.
"A cure for vampirism."
"Perfect! So we're all caught up." Rebekah smiled. "Stefan Salvatore, the last time we saw each other, you had a vampire hunter. But in order to decode the map, you needed the location of the hunter's sword which you got out of me using some very dirty tricks." She finished, giving Stefan a sour look. "Assuming you found the sword, you also found the cure and yet, you're all still vampires. Which means something went wrong."
After April was dismissed from the room, Stefan spoke up.
"You're wasting your time, we don't know anything."
"So you just gave up? I thought you'd do anything to save Elena. Even if it meant taking the cure yourself so you could grow old and die with her." Rebekah said, making Stefan look up from under his brow to see Elena's surprised reaction. "Why do you look so surprised?" The Original asked with a confused face. "I'm missing something, what is it?" A thick tension filled the air as did a deafening silence until Caroline couldn't take it anymore.
"They broke up, okay! Now let us go."
"Broke up?" Rebekah said with a slight amusement in her voice. Turning her eyes to Stefan, she continued. "I'm confused, I thought Elena was epic love, Stefan." Rebekah took a seat opposite Stefan and narrowed her look. "I asked you what happened, you have to tell me!" She demanded.
"She has feelings for Damon." He answered with a permanent frown.
"So the innocent Elena broke your heart because now she likes bad boys. That explains why you reek of alcohol." She gets back to her feet and circling around to Stefan. "But that doesn't explain why she would hurt you like that. How could she do that to you? Answer please."
"She didn't know it at the time but she's sired to Damon." Stefan explained in a sad voice. Rebekah looked surprised and sat down next to Elena.
"A sire bond, that's fascinating. And what do you think about that, Elena?"
"I think you're sad and bored and in desperate need of a hobby." She replied, feeling annoyed.
"You're hiding something, fess up!" She demanded and compelled the brunette vampire.
"I broke the sire bond last night." She admitted, giving everyone a shocked expression.
"Damon let you go?" Stefan asked in a soft voice once he settled down from the shocking fact. Elena only remained silent.
"Answer his question." Rebekah chipped in.
"No. He tried but I broke the bond by refusing to leave him."
"How did that work? The only way I know to break a vampire bond is flipping the humanity switch." Rebekah explained and then narrowed her eyes to Elena again. "Tell me how you did it?" Elena tried to pause for a moment because she knew this would hurt Stefan but the compulsion was too strong.
"I did it with love, I'm in love with him." She replied with a confession, and hearing those words herself made her heart ache with a warm feeling. It was the honest truth.
A broken sire bond.
Stefan heard those words and his frown deepened and his eyes began to water. If Rebekah thought she was punishing Stefan, she was on the ball about it, because this was agonizing.
Elena's feelings were real and so was their break up. Permanent breakup this time.
She's in love with Damon.
But Stefan's denial still wouldn't break. He wanted proof that the bond was gone. He had to be sure before he could even begin to accept it, or not.
"You love him?" Caroline's feminine voice broke the silence as she stared at her friend.
"I tried to tell you before, Caroline." Elena answered. Caroline was feeling great sympathy for Stefan, this was the worst possible setting to hear all of this. If Rebekah continued to emotionally torture Stefan she planned to speak up.
"Wow! So much has happened since I've been gone. It's like a soap opera." Rebekah chuckled and then her gaze returned to Elena. She sensed there was something else that she could use to hurt Stefan. Something more. She grinned widely before asking her question.
"You've slept with him, haven't you?"
"Yes." Elena replied, looking straight at Rebekah and it made Stefan shift in his seat.
"How was it?" She dared.
"No, stop! Don't answer that." Caroline chided, coming to Stefan's defense.
"She's compelled, Caroline." Rebekah snapped up and gave her a serious look. "Tell us all how you feel when you have sex with Damon.." She grinned again and then backed away to watch Stefan's entire reaction.
"I feel… He makes me feel like a woman." Elena started as she bought her hands together on the table and looked down at them. She quickly reflected on the memory of her first night with Damon and the following morning. "He makes me feel loved, confident, sexy and doesn't judge me. I can completely be myself with him and in return I see him. The real him." Elena explained and a small ghost of a smile appeared on her face.
Rebekah took pleasure in watching Stefan's face change as Elena said every word. His face began as an emotionless stone, trying to defend his heart but it crumbled instantly. His brow sunk, almost covering half of his eyes, his nostrils flared and his eyes started running tears down his slightly red cheeks. The compulsion was keeping him seated but you could tell by his body language that he wanted to run and run far.
Caroline and Elena took in his reaction too, feeling great sadness and pang.
Stefan felt like this heartbreak was a never ending punishment and now it was about to get worse.
"Your first time with him, how many did he give you?" The Original smirked at Elena.
"How many what?" Caroline asked, totally not understanding.
"How many?" Rebekah repeated.
"9." Elena answered while keeping her eyes down.
"Seriously?" Rebekah huffed in disbelief.
"What are you..." Caroline trailed off from asking as she realized what they were talking about. "No. You didn't just ask that." Rebekah only kept her smirk as she turned to look at Caroline. "Stop doing this to him!" Caroline then shouted, unable to see Stefan in this broken state.
"You have Stefan betray you more than once, then tell me how you feel." She spat at Caroline. "Well that was fun, but back on topic. Stefan, how do I find the cure? Unless you want to hear more about Damon and Elena."
"There's a professor, he knows where the cure is." He barely answered through his quivering lips.
"Good, where do I find him?"
After inviting Tyler and telling Kol to beat professor Shane for the cure's location, Rebekah returned to the library for one more round of fun.
"Still glued to your seats, oh the air is thick with tension in here. Let's spice things up more." She smirked. "Elena, truth or dare?"
"We're done playing your stupid games Rebekah!" Stefan spat angrily, not wanting to hear or cry anymore.
"Truth or dare, Elena?" She repeated, ignoring Stefan.
"Dare."
"I dare you to tell Stefan the truth about Damon."
"Seriously!" Caroline screeched as she banged her palms on the table. Elena closed her eyes and took a deep breath before answering.
"Being with Damon makes me happy."
"Happy? Chocolate makes us happy, Elena. Dig a little deeper."
"When I'm with him, it feels…unpredictable. Like I'm free. Like how I used to be before I lost my parents."
"And how do you feel when you're with Stefan?"
"Stop!" Caroline begged but she was ignored.
"I feel like a project, like I'm a problem that needs to be fixed. He doesn't trust me and I think I make him sad. And I can't be with someone like that because, when he looks at me, all he sees is a broken toy." Elena said in a steady voice.
"Do you still love Stefan?"
"Yes." Elena replied confidently.
"Are you still in love with Stefan?"
"No, not anymore." Elena spoke the truth.
Those words hit Stefan like a tub of ice water mixed with acid. Acid that only traveled straight to his heart, causing a burning agony that didn't want to be extinguished.
Elena loved him but wasn't in love with him anymore.
Rebekah smiled and turned around to see Stefan. "Did that hurt?" She asked. "Did that hurt, having some you love drive a dagger through your heart?"
"Go to hell!" Stefan seethed. Rebekah crouched down, nearing his face and repeated.
"Did. That. Hurt?"
"Yes.." He said in the most pained tone you'd ever heard.
"Welcome to the last nine hundred years of my life." Rebekah stated, making sure he understood why she did this to him.
After escaping the wolf version of Tyler Lockwood, Stefan and Elena found themselves in the chemistry lab saving April from Bonnie's spell. Once Elena was alone with Stefan she wanted to talk to him and see if he was okay, even though he clearly wasn't.
"Stefan."
"No." He tried to shut her out.
"I just want to talk about what happened."
"Talk about what, huh? How many more ways are there for you to rip my heart out!?" He seethed, throwing his hands up in the air.
"I was honest with you, Stefan. I told you about me and Damon. It's not my fault Rebekah did this to us."
"Are you saying it was my fault? That I'm in pain because of betraying Rebekah?"
"Working with Klaus never seems to work out for you." She said coldly as she crossed her arms in a defensive posture.
"That's not fair, Elena!" He yelled. "I apologized to you."
"I know but did you apologize to Rebekah?" She asked. Stefan only remained silent because they both knew he hadn't. "She did this because she wanted to hurt you."
"I know." He said in a hushed tone.
"I'm sorry, Stefan. I didn't want to hurt you lik..." Suddenly Rebekah burst through the locked door and snarked.
"Why are my least favorite people always the most durable?"
"This is between me and you." Stefan said, standing off against the Original.
"You're still protecting her, after hearing all those not so innocent things about her loving your brother. Do I need to rip your bleeding heart out of your chest and show you the scar tissue that is Elena Gilbert."
Rebekah then passed Stefan and spoke to Elena.
"There's an easy solution you know. I could compel him, erase every memory he has of you. Every kiss, every lie, every once of pain. I can take every bit of love he has for you. Give you both a clean slate. Just say the word and all that misery will go away."
"Do it." Stefan said firmly.
"Excuse me?" Rebekah asked as she turned back to face him.
"Erase it all, every memory."
"Stefan.." Elena couldn't even picture what that Stefan would be like. He'd probably start stalking her again, thinking she was Katherine.
"I said do it!" Stefan demanded. Rebekah stared at Stefan for a moment but then chuckled.
"No. That'd be far too easy. Erase Elena like my brother erased me." She scoffed. "Consider your eternity of misery my revenge, Stefan. I've heard all I needed to hear, so you're both free to go." Rebekah dismissed them before leaving.
Elena watched as a slouched, destroyed Stefan walked away, out of the high school and vanished.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
"I hope your day's going better than mine, gotta say I'm liking the odds." Damon smiled into his phone as he rested the shovel into the ground.
"I told Stefan about us." Elena told him through the phone as she was sitting on her porch, with a woolen blanket over her lap.
"How'd he take it?" He asked with concern.
"I don't know. He apologized first but when I told him about…us together.."
"You actually mentioned the night before last?" Damon asked, sounding surprised.
"No, but he asked. I didn't say it directly but he.."
"Figured it out." He finished.
"Yeah, he just shut down after that."
"I'm sorry, I should've been there with you."
"You were looking after my brother." She reminded him with a small smile. "How is he?"
"Depends if you trust me?"
"You know that I trust you." She reassured him.
"I think he'll get through this, as long as Klaus stops budding in." He replied.
"What did he do?" Elena asked in a voice with subtle panic.
"He fed a pizza girl to Jere, he's clearly an impatient wolf." Damon explained as he looked down at the young girl's body.
"Is he okay?"
"He's fine, Matt is here with him and Klaus has disappeared."
"Thank god. You think he'll try something else?"
"Most likely, he won't shut up about his damn hybrids." Damon huffed. Elena took a pause as she recalled the things she said during Rebekah's class session.
She was in love with Damon.
Of course she had loved him for a while but she was afraid and had never let herself say it out loud before. Now that she had, she wanted to tell him. But over the phone wasn't right, she wanted to look into his eyes while she said the words.
"I'm sorry we couldn't make our date tonight." Damon apologized, breaking Elena out of her thoughts.
"It's okay." She smiled. "Can I see you?"
"You want me to come to you?" He smiled widely.
"Be here soon." She ordered with a giggle.
After burying the girl, Damon left the lake house like a bat out of hell to see the girl that he loves.
Elena remained on the porch, bracing the winter air as she waited for the sight of a baby blue Camaro. She twiddled her fingers in the wool blanket when she began to hear the rumble of the car engine. She looked up and saw him parking his car by the curb and smiling through the window at her. She smiled back and lifted herself up holding the blanket at her front. Damon walked up to her as she met him at their spot on the porch. Before saying anything, Damon took the blanket from her, grasped the edges and cocooned it around Elena like she was a burrito and held it to her body with his hands. Cutest burrito ever. She swooned before letting her body fall into him and creating a gentle kiss between them.
"I missed you." Elena whispered against his lips.
"Same here, you broke our sire bond but then we didn't get to celebrate." He whispered seductively against her cheek.
"Aren't we supposed to have that date before the sex?" Elena teased as she trailed a kiss down his jawline as Damon kissed upwards, pecking her cheek, her brow and then her forehead.
"Do you want me to stop and make a new reservation right now?" He bluffed, kissing her hair and then nibbled her earlobe causing a gasp to pass her lips.
"Maybe.." Elena said breathlessly, as she pushed her arms out from the blanket wrap and looped her arms around his neck, causing the blanket to pool at her feet. She grasped her hands at the bottom of his hair and pulled him into a passionate kiss. After minutes of tingling pleasure they pulled apart to breathe. Elena waited for a moment to collect herself before deciding to say those three words to Damon that she had been holding onto for months. She looked up at him with her adoring, twinkling eyes, finding his blue oceans. Her heart hummed and her cheeks framed a wide grin and she let it out.
"I love you, Damon." She took a pause to let it sink in before saying it again. "I love you."
Over one hundred and seventy years of unhealthy obsession, pain, despair and a life completely void of love, Damon was searching for something he had never had. The last time he had felt love was his childhood, spending time with his mother in their garden and reading books together. Remembering those happy moments filled him with love.
Katherine never gave him that love.
But this moment, on this porch, in their spot, with this perfect girl in his arms, hearing those words amplified that love by tenfold and that was only the surface. Because this was romantic, unconditional love for the beautiful Elena Gilbert, who was now saying it back. All that hurt and rejection from before had suddenly burned away and all that remained was a blissful state of love, excitement, joy, relief and a thumping heart that only moved for her.
Elena watched his face. His reaction was full of disbelief but then changed to something similar to the one he gave her during their first morning together in his bed. A happy expression that changed the color of his irises, and a half smile that became a rare-sighting huge grin that curved his cheeks and showed his teeth.
"It's the most real thing I've ever felt in my entire life." She added, reminding him the bond was gone and her love for him was as real as ever.
This was a face no one had ever seen and Elena felt so grateful that she was one that got to enjoy it. It only seemed fair, she was the reason after all. Damon kept his smile as he leaned in and kissed her with fiery passion. Their hands started on each other's faces, holding the kiss in place but then began to wonder down their bodies hungrily. Pulling at clothes and caressing whatever bare skin they could find.
They barely passed the threshold of her bedroom door before clothes started to fly off both of them. They were both in their underwear when they fell together on Elena's bed in a hard kiss. This wasn't the first time Damon had been in her room or on her bed for that matter but it was going to be the first sex she would have with him in it and that single thought made her skin burn hotter with desire. Elena raked her fingers over Damon's chest before moving around to softly claw at his back as they kept their bruising kiss going. They opened their mouths as their tongues began to tangle together for dominance. They skewed their heads to reach a deeper and more pleasurable angle, making their lips become swollen. Damon broke the kiss and moved his mouth down to her jaw, then to her neck. Sucking and pecking feathered kisses down her throat to reach her collarbone and then over to her bra dressed breasts. He ran his tongue over the exposed tops and rubbed his rough hands over her mounds, finding her pebbled nipples underneath.
"Oh, Damon." Elena let out in a breathless moan. Damon moved back up and kissed her lips again while both hands traveled underneath her smooth body to find the bra clasp. The bra was pulled away and Damon almost lost it at the sight of her rising chest and perfect breasts. Her bedroom was only lit by the dark blueness of the night sky but as a vampire it was like full moon light and it made a topless Elena look divine. With an uncontrollable lust, Damon lunged downwards and took a nipple in his mouth while his hand massaged the other one.
"Oh…So good!" Elena mewled as she pressed her upper body upwards to find a more intense pleasure as Damon switched methods between her breasts.
Then using both hands he groped and squeezed both of them together and ran his wet tongue up the crack of the man-made cleavage. Elena's panting became faster as the skin on her chest felt like melting chocolate. No one had ever paid this much attention to her breasts before and she was loving every second of it. Elena smiled and closed her eyes, taking in the erotic pleasure and felt the need for more growing rapidly. Still holding both of her breasts in his palms, Damon started kissing downwards, reaching her perfectly flat tummy and circling his mouth around her navel. He very slowly retraced his hands down following his mouth, making Elena's skin tingle hard. Her need for a release was becoming borderline painful now and she considered touching herself for some relief before Damon had made the complete journey down.
His hands made it to her waist and he ran over the panties, feeling the soft lace. He looked down and finally noticed what her last piece of clothing was.
"I remember these." Damon smirked as he softly ran his fingers over the red lace panties, making Elena moan.
"I thought you might…that's…why I was…going..to wear them for.. our…date." She slowly said with moans, getting distracted by his touches.
"You were going to put-out on the first date?" He chuckled as he carefully brushed a few fingers under the band of the underwear, touching her soft hair, teasing her mercilessly.
"You bet I was." She whispered with a burning desire. He rubbed her delicate skin around her pelvic bone, her inner thighs and the cheeks of her bottom while not removing the underwear, which only made Elena crazy with anticipation.
"Just take them off me, Damon!" She commanded, not wanting to deal with the ache between her legs anymore.
"But they look so good on you." He fake pouted. "Red lace has never looked so sexy." He breathed against the skin of her stomach and planted more open-mouth kisses around her belly button and back down to the very edge of the lace. Elena was about to snap at her frustration and take what she needed, what her body craved.
She needed him.
"Please, Damon. I need you!" She begged in a raspy voice. He smiled against her navel and decided to give her something to take the edge off. He hooked his fingers on the lace and pulled down her flawless legs before throwing them somewhere, probably back in the yes pile. As soon as she was free from lace she spread her legs, silently telling him what she was craving badly, inviting him to enjoy her body. Only a few more teasing kisses on her thighs and then Damon began giving her what she was begging for.
Elena could feel nibbles, licking, kissing and a rough tongue dipping inside her body.
"God!..yes…yes..ohhh." She moaned loudly as she reached her hands down and gripped her fingers through his dark, soft hair. She never wanted him to leave this spot. His mouth and tongue was like heaven for her entire body. But there must be a better place than heaven for what his mouth can do to her most intimate area. Her toes and legs suddenly began to tighten as she was feeling her impending orgasm. It was like a firework with a very long fuse, slowly burning away until it would ignite, reaching for the skies and then exploding. At a surprise, she felt a thumb or a finger rubbing her clitorus as his tongue kept diving in her channel.
"Yes..there…don't stop!" She moaned again and her back began bucking upwards. The intense pleasure was becoming too much, the fuse was burning up quickly and the heat was about to ignite the firework.
"Oh, Damon. Ohhh! Fu.. You're gonna make me..." She screamed and harshly smacked her hands down onto her mattress to grip the sheets tightly, enough to rip the cotton with her nails. Only minutes more of licking and flicking and her firework sparked alive, flew in the air and exploded with fire. "Ohh my frickkkenn god!" Elena screamed as a world-shaking orgasm coursed through her body like a wave of fire, extending down her legs, making her thighs tighten and shake against his head. She could see the colors of the firework as her eyes rolled back under her eyelids and her jaw locked as she screamed his name.
Damon continued his magic the entire time, tasting her orgasm while her pleasure lasted and came to a rest. He slowly kissed back up her body, licking her stomach, her panting breasts and then settled on the pulse spot on her neck, sucking a love bite.
"I love you too." He whispered in her ear, finally replying to her porch confession.
"You had..to say it...back after...doing that, didn't you?" She giggled through shallow breaths. She opened her eyes to see him smiling with booming pride. He started giving delicate kisses over her neck, up to cheeks and then landed on her soft lips.
"You know how long I've loved you." He whispered against her mouth and he tilted his head back to pour his eyes into hers, showing the sincerity in his words. Elena blushed profusely and her heart tugged with a tightening sensation, remembering the few times Damon had said those words to her. The selfless confession in her bedroom after being abducted by Rose and then only weeks later in Damon's bed as he lay dying.
"I do." She whispered back and stroked his face softly.
She smiled at his adoring look and then pulled his body down and held it firmly against all her bare skin, clamping him down with all four of her limbs. Using her feet she slipped his briefs down his legs and he shook them off at the feet. It took a second of blood thumping anticipation before he slid into her wetness, connecting them as one. This wasn't their second time but it was something else entirely.
It wasn't just sex.
They're in love.
They both confessed it, heard it, and let it settle in their hearts. This night was all about making love for the first time and they both never wanted it to end.
Paired hearts moving as one, they both found their release together and fell into a slumber as two vampires in love.
Stefan woke up, not knowing his surroundings. His body was cold all over and the taste of alcohol still lingered on his tongue. Going through Rebekah's torture was bad enough but after leaving the school, everything else hit him like a tonne of bricks. The girl he loved deeply was in love with his brother and it only hurt more because it wasn't too long ago that she loved him. The way Elena switched brothers so quickly reminded him of Katherine. Elena was nothing like Katherine, complete opposite in fact. But the way she instantly stopped loving him to move on to Damon was confusing. Elena didn't even seem upset about the break up, all she had on her mind was the older Salvatore brother.
Maybe the sire bond wasn't broken...
Stefan needed the cure now more than ever but he couldn't do it alone.
Elena woke up in her bed and felt a strong, muscular grip around her waist. She rolled over to inspect Damon Salvatore, naked and sleeping as he kept holding her. A subtle giddiness beamed from her heart as she realized this was her first time clearly seeing a naked Damon in her bedroom. Her room may be decorated innocently but the attractive guy next to her in bed was sinfully delicious. She snuggled in closer to his chest, her lips pecking his neck, smelling his unique scent of spice, whiskey and leather. She watched closely as the man that she loved began to stir and he opened his eyes to hers.
"Morning." She greeted with an adorable smile. Damon took a moment of mesmerization before replying. He thought Elena's eyes could take you places that aren't on Earth and he felt breathless as his sleepy blue ones met her angelic chestnut ones.
"This is the best way to wake up." He said in a gravelly voice but his smirk was saying something else. Elena giggled and moved her face up to his, close enough for their noses to brush.
"Can we stay here all morning?" She whispered, running her hands up and down his arms, tracing each muscle of his forearm.
"We could but I should go and bring little Gilbert back, unless you want Matt too." Damon replied, reminding her that her brother could now come home.
"Jere." She whispered and her happy expression changed to a worried one. Elena was scared that Klaus was trying to apply his dodgy morals, having Jeremy kill innocent people just to grow the mark. Damon nodded and tunneled one arm underneath her warm body and pulled her over him as he rolled onto his back, tangling the sheets in their legs. Elena's smile returned as she felt his entire naked body beneath hers, sparking their electricity. Damon pulled her up and offered a tender kiss while his hands brushed down her smooth and curvy body and found rest on her bare bottom.
"Hungry?" He asked after the kiss broke.
"Yes, but not for blood." She teased with a smirk and started kissing his face.
"Your eyes are so beautiful, I want to kiss them." Damon interrupted while moving his mouth to her brow and pecked kisses over her closed eyes. Elena giggled at the gentle and tickling sensation.
"Will you be free tonight?" He then asked as she opened her eyes again.
"I think I can schedule you in." She smiled before planting another kiss. Their connection grew ravenous quickly, hurt lips, teasing tongues and skin that was buzzing with desire.
"My shower…is big…enough…for both of…us." Elena offered through moan inducing kisses. Damon only replied with a smoldering look before getting up and carrying her to the bathroom without letting her go or stopping the kisses.
Elena's shower was going to have extra steam this morning.
A few hours later, Damon returned to the Gilbert house with Jeremy.
"Jere!" Elena said with relief in her voice as her brother walked into the kitchen. She tabled her blood breakfast before running over to hug him.
"I'm okay, Elena." He reassured her, feeling his emotional detour as he patted her back. She pulled back and then spotted her leather jacket wearing boyfriend over her brother's shoulder.
Wait, boyfriend?
Elena suddenly realized they had never had the relationship talk. They had been intimate, they had shared how they felt but they hadn't discussed titles. She decided that their impending first date would be a great opportunity to talk about their status. Jeremy noticed their loving glances and was reminded that something happened with his sister and Damon.
"When did you two happen?" He asked, turning his head to look at them both. Elena blushed and realized that her brother knew about the breakup but not the new relationship with Damon. She looked at her brother shyly, brushed her hair back behind her ears and replied.
"A few days ago." She smiled at Jeremy and then glanced over to Damon.
"It's about time." Jeremy remarked with a flat smile as he moved across the kitchen to open the fridge.
"What?…really?" Elena asked, confused about Jeremy's reaction.
"Did you forget I was there with you guys in Denver?" He huffed and removed the carton of orange juice before seeking a glass from the dishwasher. Elena blushed again, remembering that night and how Jeremy interrupted their magnetic, passionate kiss. "I couldn't see it back then but what Rose said about you two stuck with me. I thought it was only a matter of time." He admitted, sipping his juice.
"You never told me what Rose said." Elena replied.
"Rose said something about me and Elena?" Damon asked Jeremy with a furrowed brow.
"Yeah, she said she was rooting for you guys." Jeremy answered, sharing his gaze with the both of them. "And something about how you change each other for the better."
"I didn't know Rose was so wise." Damon lightly chuckled and Elena playfully glared at him.
"I think she was right." Jeremy said after finishing his juice. "You're both different when you're around each other and I think it's a good thing, so I won't get in the way." He smiled at his sister.
"Thank you, Jere." Elena said gratefully. He gave her a brief smile and nod.
"Just don't make out when I'm in your company, once was bad enough." Jeremy half-joked.
"We can't promise that little Gilbert." Damon smirked. Jeremy huffed and shook his head before leaving the kitchen and heading up stairs to his bedroom. As soon as Damon heard his door close he whooshed right up to Elena, held her against the counter and gave her a strong kiss. Elena's eyes widened and her body jumped in shock but she quickly settled into the surprise kiss.
"Were you thinking about that motel kiss too?" He whispered against her cheek, sending a chill down her spine. Elena pulled back to see his eyes and smiled.
"Yes.." She answered honestly.
"We might need to recreate that one." He smirked wildly. "But not tonight. Tonight will be a traditional first date." He explained as he held her face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs delicately on her cheeks.
"Traditional, like dinner and a movie?" She chuckled, trying to picture bad boy Damon Salvatore having a candlelight dinner and sitting in a movie theater.
"Dinner, yes but I didn't consider a movie." He gave a slight frown.
"It's okay." She reassured him and brushed her hands up his chest and locked them around his neck. "Dinner sounds perfect." She beamed before lightly kissing him.
"Pick you up at 7?" He asked in a whisper while their foreheads rested against each other.
"I'll be ready." Damon let himself out of her embrace.
"I should go, I need to talk to Stefan." He sighed with a worried expression. Elena reflected the same look and he continued. "I haven't seen him since our trip to Bourbon Street and after what you told me what Rebekah did. I'm worried about him."
"I know, I'm worried about him too." She said, giving Damon a sympathetic look. "I did the right thing by telling him about us but Rebekah made it so much worse. I never wanted to hurt him like that."
"I know you didn't." He replied as he brushed a hand down her hair. "You gonna be okay with Jeremy? I trust Bonnie, but that professor guy gives me a bad vibe." He admitted. Ever since Damon had found out Professor Shane knew everything about Silas and the cure, he instantly didn't trust him. He seemed to know more about the occult than Ric did which made Damon wonder what the teacher wanted with Silas. Now with him teaching Bonnie a different kind of magic only made Damon more concerned. He wouldn't let anything happen to the witch that was Elena's best friend.
"I'll be fine, I have Bonnie coming over after lunch." She smiled. Damon took a slow moment and then kissed her on the forehead.
"See you later." He winked and reluctantly left her in the kitchen.
Damon needed to find his brother. In only a matter of a few days, Stefan had his heart broken and then was emotionally tortured by a pissed off Original. Damon deeply understood what that kind of pain could do to a vampire, as he was suffering from the same feelings not too long ago. No humanity Stefan was a pain in the ass but if he got a taste of human blood, the ripper would be set free and a guilt making chaos would follow him, which is exactly what Damon didn't want for his brother.
Less than ten minutes later, Damon arrived at the boardinghouse. He walked through the door, shutting it behind him and then stilled. He listened intently for any signs of Stefan. He had no idea what kind of Stefan he would find or even if he could find him at all. Running away from Mystic Falls was Damon's first choice, the second being flipping the switch. He begged that his younger brother was strong enough not to take either option. Damon suddenly heard the sound of ink being printed to paper and a subtle scent of whiskey. Stefan was in his room.
Stefan frantically scribbled down his feelings and the events that he had endured in the last few days. As fast and desperate as he wrote the pain wasn't easing. Even the two and half bottles of bourbon on his desk had barely made a difference.
He began writing a journal entry about the stuff Elena said when she was compelled by Rebekah. He got two sentences down while clenching his teeth before a wave of anger rose up, causing him to exhale roughly and he threw the book across the room and it collided with a bookshelf, making other books tumble to the floor like dominoes.
"Easy brother, that could've taken someone's eye out." Damon joked as he entered the room and took in the sight of his brother. Stefan was slouched at his desk, wearing a white tank, messy hair and his hand was grasped around a crystal tumbler. He looked up to his older brother with empty eyes, half hidden under his intense brow.
"What do you want, Damon?" Stefan asked in a cold voice.
"I've come to check on my baby brother, I heard you were put through the meat grinder yesterday." Damon explained, offering him an apologetic look. "I see you've been drinking the good stuff." He added, seeing the two empty bottles of high quality bourbon on his desk. "And here I was worrying you were drinking something stronger." Damon finished as he didn't see any discarded blood bags around his room.
At least that was a good sign.
"You don't need to worry about me, you finally got what you wanted." He said with bitterness as he poured another drink without removing his eyes of his brother.
"I suppose we should talk about Elena first, huh?" Damon replied as he stepped further into Stefan's room, wanting to get the hard part over with first.
"I'd rather not talk about her." The younger brother said, throwing back the burning alcohol, emptying the glass.
"I know, but we need to. If we don't, there's no getting past this."
"Past what!?" Stefan yelled as he quickly stood up from his chair, giving his brother a flaring look. "Get past the fact that Elena suddenly stopped loving me only to get in your bed a few days later." He said darkly, dripping with judgment. "It's like she's Kathe…"
"No brother!" Damon shouted, stopping his brother's harsh opinion. "Don't you dare finish that sentence! We both know Elena is nothing like her." He defended and also quenched the urge to punch his brother. Damon knew his brother was hurting but he wasn't gonna take any of that comparing Elena to Katherine bullshit.
"But isn't this just history repeating itself?" Stefan seethed as he circled around his desk and got closer to his brother.
"No." Damon replied as he prepared for an attack from an upset Stefan. "I know you're hurt brother but don't take it out on Elena. If you want to hurt and hate someone, you can hate me." Damon pleaded.
Stefan took a silence and considered his brother's words. Stefan didn't hate Elena, or Damon for that matter but he was hating the situation and the pain he was in. Rebekah had rubbed salt into an already open wound. The sire bond was the only thing giving him hope but apparently it was broken.
"How'd she break it?" Stefan let out in a softer voice. He wanted to know if he knew the same thing Elena did. Damon took a few calming breaths of his own before answering.
"Love." Damon answered and Stefan's face soured. "Remember when the witch told us the bond stems from human feelings?" He continued and Stefan slightly nodded. "Well, the creepy Professor said that Elena used the same feelings to break it." He explained.
"How do you know it's broken?"
"We tested it. I told her to do something, she did the opposite." Damon gave a small smirk. "If you want a second opinion, talk to Bonnie, she saw the whole thing." He said and began walking to the door.
"I want to see it for myself." Stefan ordered.
"Sure, brother. I'll get right on that." He replied sarcastically. "It's not like I have a cure to find and a hunter to train."
"You still want the cure?" Stefan asked with a confused expression. His brother now had Elena and being both vampires they could literally be together forever. Stefan knew his brother was selfish which didn't make sense that he wanted the cure.
"Of course. She wants it and I'll do anything to get it for her." Damon confessed with a smile before leaving a stunned Stefan alone in his room.
"How's Jeremy?" Bonnie asked while she was sitting on Elena's bed, watching her friend shuffling through her clothes.
"Good, I think. He's been playing computer games all day instead of staking me, so I guess it's working." Elena replied with a small chuckle, turning to her friend. "How does this look?" She added, holding up a slimming red shirt to her chest and a jean skirt over her waist.
"It's cute." Bonnie smiled. "But why are you so nervous about your clothes? You and Damon are already together and have been way more intimate than a dinner date."
"I know." She sighed. "But Damon promised me a traditional first date and that's intimate in a different way, which is why I am nervous."
"You're nervous about the talking and the sharing part of the date." Bonnie knew her best friend so well, she could read her like a grimoire.
"Yes. We have attraction and love but we've never actually talked about our lives, and I don't mean the supernatural stuff." Elena explained as she sorted through more shirts and blouses.
"Are you worried Damon won't share his past with you?" Bonnie asked, shifting into a more comfortable position on the mattress and looked over the clothes on the bed.
"Yeah. It's not easy, getting him to show his vulnerable side." Elena admitted and turned around with a blue blouse with the same skirt, giving Bonnie a raised eyebrow.
"Maybe the skirt is wrong." Bonnie pointed out "The weather is still quite chilly."
"Fair point." She replied with a small smile before folding and tucking the skirt back in the draw.
"You shouldn't stress, Elena. You are the only one he opens up too." Bonnie responded as she noticed a pair of dark jeans under a brown sweater. "Here, start with these." She offered, handing her the pants. Elena took the jeans from her and frowned. "Stop overthinking your clothes, Elena."
"You're right." She sighed again.
"Besides, I bet you guys won't be wearing any for long anyways." She said with a cheeky grin.
"Bonnie!" Elena playfully scolded. The young witch only giggled back. "I don't think people do that on a first date."
"They don't but you guys will." Bonnie stated. Seeing the chemistry between her best friend and Damon was something else. It was like when they looked at each other, everyone else around just faded in the background. Bonnie had never seen someone so in love, and for that, she was happy for her friend.
Elena laughed at her last remark, understanding that was probably going to happen. A vampire's sex drive was crazy.
"Where's that red shirt you had?" Bonnie asked. Elena pulled it out and showed it off again. "Wear that with the jeans and your favorite boots." She smiled.
"I like it." Elena smiled back, putting the outfit together.
"Why not ask Caroline for fashion advice? She basically breathes this stuff."
"I haven't really spoken to her properly since the girls night we had. She apologized but she didn't react well when she found out that I broke up with Stefan and I know she hates me with Damon." Elena explained with a sad look as she sat down next to Bonnie. Bonnie took her hand and said.
"I will take some time for her to come around. At the moment she is busy with Tyler and helping Stefan."
"It's good he has her to talk to. I just hope Damon's talk with him doesn't end bloody." Bonnie gave her a concerned look so Elena clarified. "Damon went to talk to him about everything. Us, the sire bond and everything Rebekah did yesterday." She explained.
"I knew she had you guys compelled and then Shane was taken there, so I assumed she wanted to know about the cure." Bonnie replied.
"Yeah, that's how it started. But then she began hurting Stefan by compelling me about my relationship with Damon."
"Ohh." Bonnie gasped and her eyes widened. "What things did she ask?" Elena took a long breath and told Bonnie almost word for word what happened in the school library. After getting over the shock they began to talk about less dramatic things. Elena spent the rest of her day with Bonnie and Jeremy. When it became 6pm, Elena raced up to her room to get ready for her date with Damon.
The alarm clock by her bed hit 6.55 as she heard a knock at the door downstairs. Her lip-glossed lips turned into a wide smile in her mirror as she realized it was time. Her nerves hadn't settled since she started getting ready but once she opened the door to see him, everything became calm again. He was dressed in his usual dark washed jeans and boots but instead of the typical leather jacket he was wearing a dark blue sweater over a black dress shirt. Elena couldn't even think about if she'd seen him wear something like this before because her mind and body were too busy taking in his breathtaking beauty.
"Hey, you." Damon said with a boyish smile.
"Hey, you." Elena parroted shyly, like a girl on her first date ever.
"These are for you." He said as he brought his hands around from behind his back and offered her a small bouquet of wildflowers. Elena gasped, not expecting such a romantic gesture.
"Oh my.. They're beautiful, Damon." She thanked him and grabbed the flowers from him, gestured to him to follow her and walked into the kitchen to find a vase.
Elena smiled as she put the vase in the center of the dining table, the mix of pastel colors and the springtime fragrance made the kitchen a lot more homey. She turned to see him smiling so she made the distance between them and planted a soft kiss on his lips.
"I love them." She said, against his mouth.
"I'm glad. I didn't know if you were a roses girl or not, but I just saw the bundle of daisies and thought of you." He smiled before kissing her cheek and then pulled back to see her reaction.
"You're right, very me." She admitted with a glowing smile. She moved her hands to his and interlocked their fingers before saying, "But you have given me a rose before."
"You remember that?" He said with a surprised expression and she nodded.
"I may have kept it for a short time too." Elena remembered the evening well. Stefan was acting strange because he was drinking human blood, Matt and Tyler got into a fight and Jeremy was asking questions about Vicki's death. During a moment, she was surprised but also reassured when Damon passed her a single red rose from the arrangement on the bar. Unfortunately, the guilt she had about keeping the flower made her dispose of it only days later.
"I'm surprised. That was so long ago and you didn't even like me back then." He stated.
"You're right. What has happened to me? I must be crazy now." She said sarcastically and gave him a teasing look.
"Mean." He replied in an amusing voice. They joined their lips together again for another tender kiss.
"Where are you taking me?" She asked in an almost whisper.
"Richmond. It's the closest place that actually has a decent restaurant."
"Heeey! What about the Grill?" Elena joked as she playfully swung their joined hands together. He chuckled and then said;
"The Grill can be fun but it's not where you take a special girl on a first date." He explained. Elena's heart swooned at his reasoning. "Come on." He added as pulled her into his side. "There is a bit of a drive ahead of us."
"Can I pick the music?" Elena asked as she closed and locked the front door. Damon only smiled in response and escorted down the path to his car.
She got to pick the music.
The drive to Richmond was enjoyable. Elena teased Damon, switching to pop songs on the radio while Damon tried to tickle her side as a punishment. Richmond was covered in darkness but it was lively for a Saturday night. With his hand on her lower back and opening doors for her, Damon led Elena into Richmond's best Italian restaurant.
"Wow, this place.." Elena gasped as she took in the environment. The restaurant gleamed with elegance. The tables didn't have candles but they had their own individual lamps sitting on simple white table cloths. The restaurant was busy but Damon had reserved a table for two which they were seated at quickly. After Damon pulled out her chair for her and seated himself they began browsing the menus.
"Everything sounds so good." Elena said as Damon parroted the same thing. They both apologized and then chuckled.
"You first." Damon said with a smile.
"I'm here for the eggplant parmesan." Elena smiled without looking up from her menu.
"Ohh, you're just here for the eggplant, aren't you?" He joked with a grin.
"Not just the eggplant." She smiled up at him. "You don't like eggplant?"
"Love it. I'm just taking notes, mental notes." He smirked.
"For what, our second date?"
"No, I was thinking, five-year anniversary." His smirk turned into a smile and his eyes shined into hers with a sense of love and commitment. Elena was reminded of that kids Christmas movie, where the Grinch's heart grew three times in size. That's how she was feeling when she took in his five year anniversary remark. The whole idea of spending eternity with Damon made her heart swell and it filled her belly with dancing butterflies. She couldn't believe Damon Salvatore was sitting in front of her at a fine dining restaurant, saying he wanted a very long term relationship with her and it made her breathless.
Elena knew this was the part that scared her and why it took her so long to admit to anything.
The Denver trip said it all.
The passionate way that Damon's love consumed her and made her feel alive. Rose was right, she was changing him but he also changed her. She knew if she ever went there with him, that would be it for her. They'd be no going back. There would be no one else. Everything she wanted from life was in the arms of the man sitting in front of her and now they had forever, literally.
Being with Stefan was like living in the moments, ignoring reality and not looking at the big picture.
But now, being a vampire with Damon, all she could see was big pictures.
"You think about our future?" She asked in a soft voice, looking up from her menu again.
"You're surprised that'd thought about it?" He answered with a raised eyebrow.
"No. Yes. Maybe." She smirked.
"You know I feel about you, Elena." He said with a heartfelt voice and honest eyes.
"And you know how I feel about you." She replied in the same tone. "Does this mean you're my boyfriend now?" She had to ask.
"Only if you're my girlfriend." He said, wiggling his eyebrows and she gave him a warm smile. Elena was about to say something but was interrupted by a waiter.
"Evening. My name is Nico and I'll be your server tonight. Would you like to start with drinks and entrees?" He asked in an Italian accent, scanning his eyes over both vampires.
"You first." Damon said. Elena smiled as she reread the entrée menu again.
"I'll have the veal ravioli with butter and sage." She answered the waiter and he jotted it down on a tiny pad.
"Excellent choice ma'am." He grinned. "And for you sir?" He turned to Damon and saw him reading the wine list.
"Same for me."
"Brilliant, sir. Have you selected a wine?"
"Yes. Can we have a bottle of the 92' Barolo?" Damon asked as he gestured to the menu to Rico and pointed at the listed item.
"Of course sir, a splendid wine." Rico smiled before writing. "Have you two decided on a main course?"
"The lady will have the eggplant parmigiana and I'll take the puttanesca." Damon replied with a hint of Italian in his tone.
"Beautiful. The order will be placed and I will bring you your wine." Rico said, picking up the menus and then left.
Elena was completely stunned watching Damon. How he talked about the food and wine, he looked so in his element while he did it. She was convinced that she had witnessed a little bit of human Damon and it only made her fall in love with him even more. She wanted more of that man.
"I didn't think you liked wine?" Elena said in a low voice that almost sounded like a tease.
"I can appreciate it. If you're going to eat like this you need to do it properly." He answered. "Bourbon is the best but it doesn't pair with food like wine does."
"Since when did you become a foodie?" She asked with a teasing smile and he chuckled.
"Always." He smirked. "Watching something like cooking evolve over a century and a half is quite unreal."
"I can only imagine. I bet you were excited when the car was invented." She giggled, knowing how much he loved his Camaro.
"Not at first." He chuckled. "They looked very different in the beginning."
"Where did you get your Camaro from?" She asked. Before Damon could tell the story, Rico showed up with the wine and corkscrew.
"May I?" The waiter politely asked, as he cradled the bottle against his chest. Damon gave a nod and Rico opened the bottle with a squeaky twist and poured two glasses. "Enjoy." He smiled and tattled back towards the kitchen. Damon picked up his glass and swirled it. He gestured a toast to Elena and she picked up her glass to clink them together. Before the crystal made contact, Damon gave her a loving gaze and said;
"I love you."
Elena's heart beamed so hard she felt like fainting out of her chair. Whereas a different part of her body wanted to do nothing more than finish the wine, skip the food and have Damon take her on the white tablecloth.
"I love you too." She smiled widely, keeping the desire under wraps for later. Elena mimicked Damon's technique of swirling before taking a sip. It was dry and it sang with berry notes and seemed to finish with an anise flavor. She had to take a second sip. The red liquid coated her tongue, making her taste buds hum at the incredible taste. She couldn't help but let out a soft moan as it moved down into her stomach.
"That good, huh?" Damon teased with a saucy smirk. Elena looked up from her glass and blushed.
"I've never tasted a wine like this before."
"Your new senses have settled by now, so food and drink will be a whole new experience." He explained and smiled. Damon turned his head when he caught the smell of melted butter. "Foods here." He spotted Rico carrying two small plates from the kitchen and heading towards them.
"The veal ravioli." He grinned and placed down the plates in front of the couple. He quickly retreated and left them to enjoy their starter.
"This smells amazing." Elena stated as she picked up the polished fork and jabbed one of the soft pillows of pasta.
"Indeed, excellent choice, I say." Damon winked as he did the same.
"Did you just order it because I did?" She asked and he gave her an innocent smile before she put the pasta in her mouth.
Her taste buds were taken to nirvana as she began chewing. Silky fresh pasta coated in herby butter, then a filling of fresh parsley, garlic, onion and beef. It was the greatest bite of food she ever had in her life. Maybe it was the heightened sense of taste, or maybe it was the setting. On a traditional date with Damon. Probably all of the above. Elena looked down at her plate and was suddenly disappointed that the serve only had three raviolis and one was already gone. Damon caught her pout while he finished his first.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She answered, giving him a reassuring smile. "I'm just sad there's only three. They taste incredible."
"I'm willing to share." He said in an almost whisper as he picked a ravioli on his fork and gestured it towards her. Elena didn't protest. She smiled and then opened her mouth for the pasta delivery. She pulled it off his fork with her teeth and enjoyed another heavenly pasta, closing her eyes and letting a soft moan pass her lips. She looked up and found Damon staring at her with hungry eyes.
"I won't be able to control myself if you keep making that sound." He said seductively. Elena giggled but she had to put him down, they're in a public place after all.
"Ah, ah. First date remember? So none of that." She playfully chided him, even though she was feeling the same amount of desire. They soon finished their entrée and only minutes later they had their mains.
"Are those olives?" Elena asked as she pointed her fork at Damon's dish.
"Yes. Do you like olives?"
"Yes." She smiled. Before she could ask, Damon spiraled some linguine around his fork and stabbed an olive and moved it over the table towards Elena. She smiled brightly, knowing that sharing food like this was intimate so she wanted to do the same. She forked off a piece of eggplant and Damon took it with a smile. Seems he does like eggplant.
"Wait." Damon said as picked up his napkin and brushed it in the corner of her mouth, catching a little of the escaped sauce. Elena just stared at him with a partially open mouth and eyes that scorched with desire. Damon's blues gazed into hers, displaying the same feelings he was also having in this tender moment. Before they set the restaurant on fire with their attraction, Damon pulled back and continued his meal and wine.
"You don't like pickles but you like olives?" Damon said with a confused expression, making Elena gasp silently.
"I can't believe you remember that." She said quietly.
"Of course I remember that!" He exclaimed with gusto. "We had fun." He smiled.
"Do you still think I'm not the worst company in the world?" She teased while sipping more wine. Damon took a slow breath then placed his hands over the table to touch hers. She put down the crystal and moved her hand into his open one. He softly ran his fingers over her palm before cupping her fingers. He looked deeply at her.
"You are by far the greatest company in the world."
"You're really cute when you're romantic." She beamed and he chuckled. In a different situation, Damon would have argued about being called cute but he let it go, because this moment was perfect.
After finishing their meals and a shared dessert, they walked back to the car holding hands as Damon carried the remaining wine in the other.
"You never told me where you got your car from?" Elena asked, breaking the comfortable silence.
"A friend gave it to me when I was living on the west coast."
"The west coast? When did you live there?"
"The 60's. LA was a different city back then. I helped someone out and he gave the Camaro in return."
"What did you help with that was so important you got a car as payment?" Elena asked as they made it to the very object they were talking about. Damon took a gulp from the wine bottle before answering.
"I helped on a movie." He smiled and opened the passenger door for her. She kissed him thank you and tasted the Italian wine on his lips. Once he got behind the wheel, she took the wine from him and continued.
"Did you really help someone with a movie?"
"You don't believe me?" He gave her a raised eyebrow before turning the key in the ignition.
"Was it a vampire movie?" She chuckled and he shook his head.
"No, but it had a lot of crows in it, so I helped." He grinned and began reversing into the road.
"Crows? What can you do with…" Elena trailed off. She then instantly remembered a crow that had followed her around before and after she'd met Stefan and the day she met Damon at the boarding house, there was a vanishing crow. "Wait. That was you?" Damon only smirked at her as she figured it out. "You can control crows?"
"Sort of." He admitted as the car hit the highway. "It's closer to compulsion but it took me a long time to do it."
"So you were there weren't you, in the cemetery that day?"
"I was." He confessed.
"Why?"
"Just watching over you." He admitted, giving her a smile.
"You've always been doing that." She replied and pulled his right hand onto her lap and interlocking their fingers. "Even those times I didn't want you too." Elena took a pause, remembering the time she wanted to hand herself over to Klaus to save everyone else.
"I will always be there for you." He promised. "I can't lose you."
"I can't lose you either." She said softly, looking down at their combined hands.
Only forty minutes later, Damon was dropping Elena off at her house. Tomorrow was going to be all about the quest for the cure and keeping Jeremy safe so they both didn't want this night to end.
"I had a great time, Damon. It was nice to step out of our lives and do something normal." Elena said as they made their way up the path to her house.
"I agree." He smiled. "You'll have to tell me though, is the good night kiss still a move in the 21st century?" He joked as they made it to their spot on the porch. Elena blushed and giggled before turning to him.
"You never ask permission to kiss me."
"I had to ask, this is my first real date in 172 years." He smiled. "I'm not caught up on everything." A slight sadness came over Elena, realizing she was probably Damon's first serious girlfriend in over a century but she was also glad, pointless jealousy wasn't needed. Him being Katherine's ex, or whatever he was to her was bad enough.
"Good night kisses are definitely a thing." She said in a seductive tone and pulled his sweater at the chest until she crushed her lips to his. She looped her arms around his neck and her hands settled in his hair as his hands started at her sides and ran down to her lower back. The kiss was tender but quickly changed to passionate. Just like the night in Denver, Damon wanted to push her against something to deepen the kiss but he remembered the first date concept. It really wasn't easy, but he reluctantly pulled back.
"Good night, Elena." He said, holding her face in his hands. A confused look came over Elena, she was expecting this night to go a different way.
"Ahh, what?" She let out before he got off the porch.
"First date, remember? I'm being a gentleman." He smiled smugly as he turned back to her. Elena only pouted in response. She had enforced the no sex rule earlier but after that kiss and the amazing date, she wanted nothing more than to take him up to her bedroom and do naked things together. "Don't use that adorable pout on me. I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he walked back to her for a hug and a swift kiss. He walked away again and left the house in his car. Elena was happy and turned on during the date but now she was left surprised, alone, and sexually frustrated. She could easily follow Damon to the boardinghouse and get what she needed but it was late and a whole new supernatural problem was waiting for her and her brother on the horizon.